Joyce Li, GolfNerve, September/October, 2007

(Note: This article was originally in Chinese, and has been translated.)

Before most investors invest in real estate, the stock market or other businesses, they need to collect necessary information. Now days, the internet is one of the tools which may help you. But if you want to get systematic and complete information, you need professional help.  Today, I have the opportunity to interview Rudy Nielson, who has been a fee real estate appraiser for over 40 years. With his professional knowledge and computer technologies, he has developed analytical software tools which can be used to get information about BC’s real estate market, such as home sale price, sale trends, where are buyers from and so on. In simple words, with the help of his analytical tools, Rudy knows everything about the BC real estate market.  Here are his opinions about the real estate market around golf courses and the real estate market across BC.

Potential appreciation of the real estate market around golf courses?

Rudy pointed out there are several factors which affects a developer’s choice of locations to build houses such as transportation, school, community facilities and safety. Other important factors are the views, whether it is close to the mountain or close to the ocean or close to the river. Houses around golf courses usually meet the above requirements. Furthermore, BC is the best place in Canada to play golf. That is why developers are highly interested in land around golf courses.

Rudy pointed that detached properties around golf courses have been showing strong and steady appreciation.

For attached properties, the hottest ones are in Kelowna. The average sale prices around Kelowna’s Harvest and Gallaghers Canyon Golf Course increased by more than 80% and 100% within 5 years.

Most Whistler properties around golf courses are condos or apartments, e.g. 78% properties around Whistler’s Golf Club and 54% of properties around Chateau Creek Golf Course are condos. Rudy said the sale prices around three golf courses in this area showed a decreasing trend within the last 5 years. Part of the reason is related to the high inventory supply in the area.

The Furry Creek Golf Course has the highest percentage of available vacant land at 36%, and Vernon’s Predatory Ridge Golf Course has 34% of available vacant land.

In the last year, vacant land price around Victoria’s Bear Mountain Golf Course decreased by 26%. But if we look at prices within the last 4 years, the price actually increased by 147%. The current average sale price is $1,447,830 per acre. On the other hand, sale prices of condos here appreciated by 14% since last year and increased about 162% since 2003.

The current sale price of vacant land around Furry Creek is $927,858. The current most expensive vacant land is around Nicklaus North Golf Course with price of $3,699,597, which has increased by 146% in the last 4 years. The average sale price of detached properties around Furry Creek is $1,010,800.  The average sale price of detached properties around Nicklaus North is $1,578,810.  But for attached properties, the average sale price has decreased within the last 5 years. The current average sale price is $641,983.

The average sale price of vacant land around Kelowna’s Harvest Golf Course increased by 196% from 2003 to 2007. But for detached properties, the average sale prices showed a slight decrease.

For another golf course, Gallaghers Canyon, the average sale price of vacant land appreciated by 75% within 4 years. The current sale price is $1,493,177 per acre. The average sale price of detached properties increased by 280%. The average current sale price is $618,322.

Another hot city is Vernon. The average sale price of vacant land around Predator Ridge Golf Course increased by 92% from 2003 to 2007.  The current average sale per acre is $926,368. The average sale price of detached properties increased by 223% in the last 4 years. The current average sale price is $505,000. For detached properties, the average sale price increased by 55% in the last 4 years. The current average sale price is $471,000.

From the above information, it is obvious that the real estate market is not always up. Before you invest, you have to know your current market situation and then invest your money wisely. One thing you may have noticed that 2003 is used in the above study as the watershed for it was then that the real estate market in Greater Vancouver started to go up. Because of that, some investors looked outside Greater Vancouver to get good deals.

Rudy is very confident in BC's real restate market after talking about the high prices in BC and the Greater Vancouver area. He said the potential for BC real estate is great. Right now, 94% of BC real estate buyers are from BC, and then are from Alberta and USA because BC has the best weather in Canada. In recent years, investing in recreational properties such as properties around golf courses or farm land has been very hot. One example Rudy gave to me is that of a young couple living in Maple Ridge and works in Downtown Vancouver, who has to get up early to drive to work and then drive back to do the housework and take care of the kids every day. They found that communication between family members become less and less and it was hard to live like that. So they decided to sell the house and bought a farm in Northern BC and moved there. Do you want to live the rustic life?

If you dream about this type of life or if you want know any information about recreational property, you can ask Rudy or visit his company's website www.niho.com.

Rudy also told me that there was a Chinese person who was investing in recreational land 3 years ago. Could you be next?